I love my profession, and I'm an accountant in public practice. One of the seasons of my work that I absolutely enjoy the most is, well, actually tax season. However, this year I may not be enjoying it as much, and one of the reasons is because CRA has launched an initiative to get Canadian taxpayers compliant in terms of reporting their specified foreign property assets. This creates a major challenge not only for tax accountants but for taxpayers as well. Now, while completing and filing a Form T1135 isn't new, what is new for 2014 is the amount of detailed information required. Furthermore, certain exemptions that were available for 2013 and earlier are no longer available for 2014 and subsequent years. Failure to report or making errors on your submission can be subject to significant penalties and interest, and these are punitive. So at this point, you're probably asking yourself, what exactly is specified foreign property? And perhaps it's easier if I explain what specified foreign property is excluded from the reporting requirements of Form T1135. Here's a quick list of the exclusions: specified foreign property that you have held in a registered plan, such as your RSP, TFSA, IRA, or a Roth IRA, would be excluded. Additionally, Canadian mutual fund property that is used or held exclusively in the course of an active business, such as a day trader, and personal use property are also excluded. Personal use property is defined as property owned by a taxpayer and a related party, and the property is used more than 50 percent for their personal use and enjoyment. Now let's turn our discussion towards specified foreign property that actually does have to be reported on Form T1135. If the aggregate cost is greater than a hundred thousand Canadian, the following...